Exoticism in Italian cuisine

The late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were very important for the study of the plant kingdom and the refinement of its application to economy. This also meant a renewal of the interest on the part of European countries in the agricultural and food practices of the vast colonial empires through voyages and expeditions, drawing on reports and materials gathered from the travels of previous centuries. However, some European countries did not have direct access to the colonial world. This was the case with Italy, which did not achieve territorial unity and had no actual colonies until the second half of the nineteenth century. How were food plants and agricultural practices in distant lands viewed by Italian naturalists, scientists and policymakers? Through the analysis of primary printed and handwritten sources, this essay discusses and sheds new light on the exchange of information about exotic foods within the scholarly community and how and why it was shared with Italian audiences.